Mizuho Financial Group Inc. plans to set up an investment bank in Saudi Arabia, home to the world's best-performing stock market this quarter.
Mizuho Corporate Bank Ltd. and Mizuho Securities Co. will establish a joint venture in Riyadh in the first half of next year, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said, declining to be identified before an official announcement. The unit will initially hire about 20 local bankers, and Mizuho is seeking an investment-banking license in the country, they said.
Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch & Co. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. have entered Saudi Arabia this year, seeking to profit from the rising wealth created by soaring oil prices. Japan's banks, whose combined profit fell about 50 percent in the fiscal first half, plan to expand overseas as loan demand stalls at home.
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